


Best Laid Plans (or A Fairly Decent Proposal)

by FireworksFactory



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, basically peridot is a huge worrywart, proposal, this will be pretty fluffy soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-03-29 01:56:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3877981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireworksFactory/pseuds/FireworksFactory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot has a huge question to ask Lapis, but can she overcome her nerves in order to ask the biggest question of her life. (THIS STORY IS INDEFINITELY DISCONTINUED.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Less than Helpful Help

**Author's Note:**

> So begins my first structured story fic, hopefully it all goes well.

"So, anyways, that's when I told him: 'Sir, if you grope the mannequins, I will have no choice but use excessive force.' He just a creep, Peri, like you wouldn't believe."

Peridot sat there stonefaced. So many times has she had to listen to some of Jasper's..."riveting" stories of life as a mall security guard, and so many times did she not really care. Sure, she was her best friend, but Jasper just liked to drone on and on about nothing, literally instigating conversations about trivial things like conditioner or sock color. Today of all days wasn't a good time to hear this, Peridot had her own dilemma. 

"And he ACTUALLY ran away with the fucking mannequin. We let him have it, because he'd just keep coming back and-" Jasper stopped to look at Peridot, who was completely zoned out. She never looked THIS disinterested during her stories. "Yo, Peri, you okay?"

No response. 

"Peri!" She snapped, breaking the slender woman from her trance. 

"Oh-oh, I'm sorry, Jasper. Please continue."

The larger woman folded her arms and looked at Peridot suspiciously. "That's weird, you never tell me to KEEP telling my stories. What's up with you?"

"Nothing's wrong! Nothing at all!"

Jasper scoffed,"I've heard that one before and usually it translates to 'Jasper, I didn't pay the cable bill' or 'Jasper your mom called from prison and she wants you help her break out...again'." Peridot furrowed her brow in remembrance of that extremely awkward phone call. "So, just be real with me."

And just like that, Peri zoned out again. 

She didn't want to answer, the knots in her stomach were just tightening at the continuous thoughts. She just wanted to forget about it, but she needed to be mentally ready to execute her plan. Not to mention, Jasper had never been the best confidant. It was because of Jasper, her dreams of getting a date with her crush during Senior year was pretty much crushed. No real fault of Jasper, but she just couldn't keep her big trap shut. 

"Earth to Peridot," Jasper nudged at the still thunderstruck woman. When Peridot finally came back to reality, Jasper gripped her on the shoulders and shook her slightly. "Will you PLEASE tell me what's up with you?!?"

At almost an impulse at this point, Peridot told her just to shut her up. "I'm going to propose to Lapis this afternoon!" she yelled maybe just a little too loud and uncomfortably. 

Jasper nearly fell back in her chair when she heard those words. The thought of Peridot finally, well, committing to something was just unreal. Not just that, Lapis was dropping all of the hints necessary that she wanted to finally get hitched, and even Jasper could pick up on that. But, then again, Peridot was sort of "emotionally colorblind", she could see the big stuff clearly (anger, desire, frustration, etc.) but the little stuff like subtle romantic passes always remained a mystery to her. Frankly, Jasper was surprised she decided to propose at all. 

"Are you serious? That's great! Good for you, Peri. Finally hitching a ride on the ol' matrimony pony, huh?"

Peridot tensed, she knew this wasn't a good idea. When does Jasper ever take anything seriously, she thought. 

"I don't know," the green-eyed woman said, clearly on-edge,"I don't know if Lapis will say 'yes' or if I moved too suddenly, or..."

"You guys have been dating for four fucking years, I say this is just long overdue if ya ask me."

"I don't think I was asking you," Peridot mumbled waspishly. 

Jasper rolled her eyes and stood up off the couch. Oh no, she's gonna get really vocal, Peridot thought. 

Jasper then started pacing around the living room. "Okay, let's go over the checklist. Um...an engagement ring! You got one of those, right?"

"Yeah. It took a lot of paychecks but I finally got the perfect ring." Peridot slumped down deeper into the couch,"By the way, you might be on your own for the electric bill this month."

"Whatever," Jasper said waving that notion off. "Next, some kind of romantic setting. Like a pretty vista or some kind a' hoity-toity restaurant or something."

"I made reservations down at the Italian place on Third Street."

"Guissepe's?"

"Hell no! I want to get her to agree to marry me not give her food poisoning at unreasonable prices."

Jasper thought for a second. "Oh, Salvadoré's?"

Peridot nodded. "That's the one."

Jasper winced and visibly cringed. "That's gonna set you back." Jasper was very familiar with their prices. $45 for a small plate of ravioli? Shit, she could get a better dining experience out of a $3 can of ravioli and still have enough for a good case of beer. Needless to say, Jasper barely knew what "palette" meant. 

Peridot shook her head and folded her arms. "No, me and Lapis are going to split the difference. We planned this a month ago."

Jasper then looked fake offended. "And you kept this proposal secret from me for over a month? I thought we were cool, Peri."

"Three months, actually," she corrected flatly. 

Jasper sighed at Peridot's utter lack of trust."Okay now, last thing you gotta have: a moment." 

Peridot looked at her confused. She had absolutely no clue what she was onto now. 

"A moment?"

"Yeah, like in the movies where the band starts playin' and the atmosphere is just right for you to make the move."

The slender woman started to get frenzied. "I didn't plan for a moment! Why didn't I plan for a moment?"

Jasper sat back down next to her and plopped an arm around her. Peridot hated contact from people who weren't Lapis, but she hated being out of the know about something this important. 

"Now Peri, you can't MAKE a moment, you have to let the moment make itself. It's just gotta flow, y'know?"

Peridot seriously didn't know. 

"Well, I've given you all of my knowledge. It's all up to you from here, string bean. But I'm sure Lapis is gonna say yes."

"You," Peridot stammered,"You really think so?"

"Yeah, if she can put up with ya for as long as this, she's definitely wantin' to keep ya." Jasper then chuckled to herself as she turned the TV on. 

Peridot rolled her eyes. Jasper gave some..."valid" points, but she needed someone who's actually been in the same situation. There was only one other thing she could do now, besides hope for the best. She couldn't rely on tired movie clichés for something as big as this. 

She needed some mentors.


	2. Some Real Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot tries to get a little more insight

It was just another couple of hours until Lapis got off of work and Peridot was still woefully underprepared for tonight. After breaking the news to Jasper (and getting absolutely nowhere with that) she decided to seek help from the only couple she knew who's actually been in the same situation. It was awkward because she was merely a mutual friend of Lapis and Pearl's, but they were still acquainted enough. 

Peridot left her apartment and drove to the far side of town into the suburbs, a place she hated visiting due to wholesome, traditional family values bringing her to the brink of sickness. She had made sure to alert Rose of her arrival and situation before coming over to avoid any time being wasted. She arrived at the Universe household and began telling Rose and Greg the whole story. 

"That's the thing, though," Peridot continued her explanation,"I'm not sure how well this is gonna go. She'll probably agree, but it's just as likely that she won't." She groaned and rubbed her aching temples. 

"Oh dear, it's not very good to think of it like that," Rose said, laying a reassuring hand on Peridot's shoulder,"I'm sure she loves you enough to want to marry you."

Tears began to form in the dark-skinned woman's eyes. They were a mix of frustration and sadness over what she believed to be the inevitable. Rose and her husband, Greg, truly were the picture of how love could triumph all, no matter how strange or out of their league someone is. Kind of like how she and Lapis ended up together. 

"But how would I do this? What if I just fuck it up royally? Would I have went so fast that she wouldn't want to be with me anymore?" Peridot put her face in the palm of her hands in agony. 

Greg sighed and moved over to the stressed woman. "Peridot," he began,"would you like to know how I proposed to Rose?"

She looked up from her hands and nodded. 

"Well, it all happened about 14 years ago. At the time, I was broke, barely ever landing any singing gigs and even when I did it didn't pay well. But I did everything I could for Rose, I even gave it up entirely for a while to get some temp job at an office just to get us by. Not to mention us having to live in my van for a while" Rose looked over at her spouse as he began to get more emotional. "When I got enough money from my paychecks, I went to a pawn shop and found the best ring they had, I was just so determined to show Rose that I was dead serious about this."

Greg stopped and glanced at Rose. "Hey hon, you wanna tell her what happened later that night?"

Rose smirked and looked back to Peridot. "Later on, Greg told me that he had a huge surprise on the top of the big hill. I assumed he had gotten a promotion or a raise and just wanted to break the news. But when we got to the top, Greg pulled out a beautiful diamond ring and proposed to me. The only plausible answer was "yes", but..."

"But, what?" Peridot asked. 

Greg rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. "The way I popped the question wasn't exactly perfect. Far from it, actually. I nearly slipped and fell trying to kneel down, I almost dropped the ring off of the cliff, I got all seven of the actual four words I was trying to say wrong, and I was just a nervous, sweaty mess the whole time."

Peridot looked at Rose. "And you said yes?"

"Of course I did. I loved Greg with all my heart and I was definitely ready to marry him. And there's no doubt in my mind that Lapis will say yes, you just have to put it all on the table."

"And if that doesn't help," Greg said,"sing her a song that means the world to her. You just need to drive your van into her heart, Peridot." Rose giggled at Greg's corny advice and have him a peck on the cheek. 

Suddenly, Peridot felt much better about her chances. If Greg was able to be an absolute mess but still give everything he had for Rose, then how could Lapis say no if she gave 110% during the proposal. She just needed to fine-tune a couple of things. 

The dark-skinned woman smiled and, in an uncharacteristically bold move on her part, brought Rose and Greg in for a hug. For two people she barely knew, they were alright. 

"Shit," Peridot said,"I've only got 3 hours until Lapis gets off work! There's still so much I have to do! Thanks for everything, guys! It helped a lot! I'll see you later!"

3 hours. More than enough time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Peridot continues doing things


	3. Second Guessing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis ponders her relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever since I've updated this story, but I just wasn't feeling it recently. That being said, I promise that, in some way or another, I'll finish this story. Enjoy!

Lapis sat in the teacher's lounge, practically inhaling the numerous cups of coffee it took to keep her awake through her day. But today of all days just seemed to be one long headache to her, much to the point where from 3rd period on she just played a movie to keep the kids occupied. She even considered leaving early and having a substitute to fill in for her while she went back to her house.

But she'd just return to an empty house where she and her cat, Seashell, resided. Of course, she respected when Peridot stated they should take things slow and live in separate homes until things got extremely serious, but it just started to get worrisome after a while. 

Four years, Lapis thought, how come we aren't even living together? With a heavy sigh, she placed her mug down and rubbed her temples for a few seconds, trying to keep those thoughts from putting a damper on tonight. 

"Hello Lapis," came the voice of Pearl, the school's dance teacher. She clearly noticed the anguished state that the dark skinned woman was in, mainly because she would always get an eccentric and loud greeting from her. 

"Lapis, is something wrong?"

Lapis looked up from the ground and sighed as she directed a glance at Pearl. "Well, kinda. But I don't wanna trouble you with it."

The pale woman waved a hand at that. "It's really no trouble. I just want to help."

Lapis let out yet another heavy exhale and ran both hands through her hair. "It's just...I don't think Peridot wants to take our relationship as far as I do."

"Well," Pearl said, filling up her coffee cup,"Why would you say that?"

Lapis paused and tried to phrase it right. "Okay...I wanna just throw out a scenario. Now just imagine if you and Amethyst, instead of getting married and having a child, sort of stayed in different houses and had no interest in going further."

Pearl nodded and allowed her to continue. 

"On top of that, imagine Amethyst constantly blowing off your dates to go drinking with her roommate and drunk calling you at 3 a.m."

Pearl walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't thinking of breaking it off are you?"

Lapis shook her head and looked out the lounge door. "No, I really do love her and I want us to get more serious, but I just don't know if she wants to."

"Have you guys gone on any major dates recently?"

Lapis shook her head. "Not recently, but me and Peri's going out to eat at a fancy restaurant tonight. So there's that."

And then the bell rang, lunch was over and the children started returning to their respective classrooms, they knew they had to wrap this up fast. Knowing she couldn't take it back the room with those little runts, Lapis began to drink her coffee faster, burning her tongue in the process. Pearl couldn't help but giggle at Lapis' poor decision. 

"Oh, ith my pain funny," Lapis said as well as her tongue could say it. 

Pearl stifled a giggle. "Not at all...Lapith!"

"Okay, okay. But, what do think I thould do, Puhl?"

"Lapis, darling, Peridot is a sweetheart and I know without any kind of doubt the you guys can work something out," Pearl paused,"But, I would let your date tonight be the deciding factor. If she makes a move, that's great, if she doesn't...I think you have your answer."

Lapis nodded understandingly. "Yeah, thankth Puhl."

Pearl smiled as she walked to the door. "Anytime, Lapis."

The dance teacher's words sat in her head a little while. While she thought the notion of leaving Peridot after tonight unthinkable, maybe she should be a little bit more scrutinizing. But, she held to the hope that her girlfriend has something up her sleeve. 

She just has to.


End file.
